Biography

Sheree Renée Thomas (born September 30, 1972) is an American writer, book editor, and publisher. In 2020, Thomas was named editor of ''

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (usually referred to as ''F&SF'') is a U.S. fantasy fiction magazine, fantasy and science-fiction magazine, first published in 1949 by Mystery House, a subsidiary of Lawrence E. Spivak, Lawrence Spiv ...

''. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Thomas' father joined the Air Force, forcing her to travel extensively during her childhood. After spending twenty years in New York, she now resides in her hometown. Throughout her writing career, she has advocated for diversity and inclusion within the science fiction community, "good stuff is always being published. We want more “good stuff” and mo’ different good stuff, thank you! Work that reflects other lenses, other values, other world views in addition to the other good stuff that is traditionally published." However, she does not sustain her views on only African voices, but hopes to incorporate global perspectives, such as South Asian and Belgium steampunk, or Cuban science fiction, "voices that might not have been visible two decades ago." She also credits the world around being inspiration for some of her writing and the obligations writers have to address even complex topics of racism, "You want to read work that reflects yourself, your perspective, your point of view and the community around you. And if you don't see it in the work in front of you, as a writer, you're challenged to write it yourself."

Career

Thomas is the editor of the ''Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora'' anthology (2000) and ''Dark Matter: Reading the Bones,

Dark Matter In astronomy, dark matter is an invisible and hypothetical form of matter that does not interact with light or other electromagnetic radiation. Dark matter is implied by gravity, gravitational effects that cannot be explained by general relat ...

'', winners of the 2001 and the 2005 World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology, which collect works by many African-American writers in the genres of

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

, horror and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

. ''Dark Matter'' received the 2005 and the 2001

World Fantasy Award The World Fantasy Awards are a set of awards given each year for the best fantasy fiction published during the previous calendar year. Organized and overseen by the World Fantasy Convention, the awards are given each year at the eponymous ann ...

and was named a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Notable Book of the Year, and became the first Black writer to receive this recognition. Thomas is the author of '' Nine Bar Blues: Stories from an Ancient Future (Third Man Books, 2020)'', the multigenre collections '' Sleeping Under the Tree of Life'', longlisted for the 2016 James A. Tiptree, Jr. Award and '' Shotgun Lullabies: Stories & Poems'', is publisher of Wanganegresse Press, and has contributed to national publications including ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', ''Book World'', ''

Black Issues Book Review ''Black Issues Book Review'' was a bimonthly magazine published in New York City, U.S., in which books of interest to African-American readers were reviewed. It was published from 1999 until 2007. History and profile ''Black Issues Book Review' ...

'', '' QBR'', and '' Hip Mama''. Her fiction and poetry has been widely anthologized and appears in "The Big Book of Modern Fantasy (1945-2010)," in Ishmael Reed's '' Konch'', '' Drumvoices Revue'', ''Obsidian III'', ''African Voices'', ''

storySouth ''storySouth'' is an online quarterly literary magazine that publishes fiction, poetry, criticism, essays, and visual artwork, with a focus on the Southern United States. The journal also runs the annual Million Writers Award to select the best ...

'', and other literary journals, and has received Honorable Mention in the ''Year's Best Fantasy and Horror'', 16th and 17th annual collections. She also serves as the Associate Editor of '' Obsidian: Literature & Arts in the African Diaspora'', founded in 1975. In addition to writing and editing, she has worked in the book publishing industry, as a bookseller, and writing teacher.

References

Sources

* ''Bringing Challenging Feminist Science Fiction to the Demanding Reader'' (Aqueduct Press

* Thomas, Sheree Renée (The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction

External links

Official website

Blackpot Mojo
— Sheree Renée Thomas' Blog *
Sheree Thomas' publications in Drumvoices Revue

Connected to Culture: A Conversation with Sheree Renée Thomas, Clarkesworld (July 2021)

Afrofuturist Writer Sheree Renée Thomas, In the Green Room, Zocalo (September 30th, 2022)
* Guest Lecturer Sheree Renée Thomas
Interview, Writing Workshop

A Conversation with Editor Sheree Renée Thomas at FiyahConSheree Renée Thomas returns to Wakanda for BLACK PANTHER: PANTHER'S RAGE!
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Sheree American science fiction editors American book editors Writers from Memphis, Tennessee Living people American science fiction writers 20th-century American short story writers 21st-century American short story writers American women short story writers American women science fiction and fantasy writers Afrofuturist writers 1972 births 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American women writers 20th-century African-American women writers 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American women writers 21st-century African-American writers